Inez Wilken

Inez Helen Wilken was born March 19, 1917, the daughter of Henry and Margaret Erdman Kroeger. She passed away Wednesday, April 20, 2011, at Regency Park Nursing and Rehab Center in Jefferson, Iowa, at the age of ninety-four.
Inez was born in Arcadia, Iowa. She received her education in the Arcadia schools. On March 19, 1938, she was united in marriage to Melvin Wilken in Jefferson, Iowa. The couple made their home near Westside, Iowa, and were blessed with the birth of two children, Marcia and Merle. They worked in the family business, Wilken Trucking, for many years, with Inez keeping the books for them. She also ran the local diner in Westside for several years.
She baked delicious pies and homemade bread, enjoyed a good game of cards or Bingo, and was an avid Ar-We-Va Rockets and Iowa Hawkeyes fan. She enjoyed looking at beautiful flowers and planting them around her home. She loved traveling on bus trips, and was a very fun-loving person. Inez was a wonderful mother and grandmother, treasuring the time spent with her family. She was a member of the United Church in Westside.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Melvin in 1999; two brothers: Gilbert and Orville; three sisters: Janine; Junita; and Leota. She is survived by one daughter, Marcia; one son, Merle and his wife, Judy; six grandchildren; Sheri and her husband Joe; Lori and her husband, Gregg; Joni; Marty; Michael and his wife, Laura; and Matthew and his wife, Janice; eight great-grandchildren; one sister Irma; one brother in-law, Don; other relatives and friends.